InfraMed, the long-term infrastructure investment fund dedicated to infrastructure projects in the Southern and Eastern Mediterranean region, will support the development of the port of Iskenderun in Turkey.

InfraMed has acquired, through its wholly owned subsidiary InfraMinervois Holding, a 20% stake in Limak Iskenderun Ulusararasi Isletmeciligi A.S. (“Limak Iskenderun”).

Limak Iskenderun is the special purpose vehicle, which will operate and develop the port at Iskenderun in Anatolia under a 36-year concession. The stake has been acquired from Limak, one of the largest and leading industrial conglomerates in Turkey, which will continue to hold balance of the equity.

Limak Iskenderun acquired the port in December 2011 as part of the government’s privatisation programme. Currently a general cargo port, Limak Iskenderun will invest in the facility to transform it into a leading container terminal with a phase 1 capacity in excess of 1.3m TEU p.a.

InfraMed CEO Frederic Ottavy said, “We are pleased to be investing alongside Limak and working together to make this project a success for the region and for the investors. The potential to work with strong partners with a proven track record is a key element in our assessment of investment opportunities and we believe the complementary skills of our two organisations creates a strong combination.”

For his part, the chairman of the Investors Board, Franco Bassanini, emphasised that "InfraMed has entered its operational phase and expects to announce, in the coming months, additional investments which are now at the advanced stages. Fundraising activities will also commence shortly. InfraMed will play an important role as an instrument for cooperation between Europe and the countries of North Africa and the Levant in the crucially important Mediterranean basin."

InfraMed is a long-term infrastructure investment fund focussed on the southern and eastern Mediterranean region. Five institutional investors contributed EUR 385m to establish InfraMed: Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (CDC), Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (Cdp), the European Investment Bank (EIB), Caisse de Dépôt et de Gestion (CDG) in Morocco, and EFG Hermes in Egypt. InfraMed has a unique investment team made of the combination of InfraMed Management, CDG Capital Infrastructures (CDG Group) and the Egyptian Fund Management Group (EFG Hermes Group). InfraMed has a target size of c.€1bn and has recently appointed Deloitte to assist with further fund raising.